The Stockport tower blocks where fire risk revelations have left top boss 'horrified'
'The worst place you could possibly be as a housing provider'
People were put at ‘substantial or intolerable’ risk of fire at their flats due to a ‘systemic failure’ at Stockport Homes. The revelations left the housing firm’s top boss ‘horrified’.
In January 2026, Stockport Homes Group (SHG) said it was investigating serious fire safety concerns at four blocks at Lancashire Hill. That same month, two fires broke out. Concerns became so serious a 24-hour watch team was deployed.
The housing association is owned by Stockport council and manages the estate. Issues raised at the time included ‘the absence of fire doors in key locations’; issues with ventilation systems; and a change in fire protocol at the four blocks in the event of an incident from ‘stay put’ to ‘simultaneous evacuation’.
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At the time, people said they were frightened of a ‘catastrophe’, with some saying they had lost all faith in their landlord and were living in fear. SHG said safety was an ‘absolute priority’ and repairs were being carried out.
Those high up in both the council and the housing association faced tough questions over the report commissioned into the issues at a housing scrutiny meeting at Stockport Town Hhall on June 11.
The report, carried out by Arcus Consulting, said a self-referral was made in December 2025 to the social housing regulator after ‘it was discovered that 648 FRA [fire risk assessment] actions had been marked as ‘completed’, when the full work required to close down the action had not been delivered’. This took place over a year and has led to a £5m backlog.
Works needed to be carried had not been added to the company’s planned programme of works and there was a ‘lack of clarity’ in some areas about what needed to be done. That prompted changes in evacuation procedures and the 24-hour team was put in place ‘to mitigate the risk exposure and ensure the safety of customers living in those blocks’ until a new fire system was installed.
Arcus Consulting found a backlog of issues was building up with some taking up to three years to be finished and the evidence needed to sign off tasks was unclear. It: “Quality assurance and governance exist on paper but is not consistently understood or evidenced in practice.”
The report also said ‘remedial works slip beyond deadlines and repeat year-on-year issues’ and fire risk actions ‘were not consistently completed, resulting in clear regulatory non-compliance and self-referral’.
Other markers of performance ‘was not independent validated’ while governance and assurance was not done properly nor were issues escalated.
Despite the issues found, the report said interviews from February and March 2026 suggested ‘there was a shared sense that the organisation is now in a much stronger and more positive place compared with 2025’. SHG and the council were also praised for a ‘more transparent tone’ in addressing issues.
A number of recommendations were made for improvement but the housing association was praised for acting ‘quickly to implement appropriate mitigations and established clear plans for the completion of the required works’. The report said: “These measures will help minimise the risk of human error and will strengthen Stockport Homes Group’s position.”
At the June 11 meeting, Coun James Frizzell slammed what he called a ‘systemic failure’ and the ‘couple of hundred thousand pounds’ cost of the 24 hour watch needed to keep people safe.
Coun Frizzell said the situation was serious and past reports back to councillors were ‘nonsense’, adding: “I feel that that money which has been wasted by the organisation is supposed to be looking after those residents.”
He told top bosses: “I feel like there should be a bit more contrition because this is people’s lives”, adding: “Over time, these resident’s safety was becoming compromised and there was no alarm bells going off.”
In response, chief executive Carmel Chambers, who has been with SHG since 2006, said: “Health and safety and life and death is absolutely paramount”, adding: “We were horrified, the members of the management team, when we found out about this.”
The top boss said it was ‘the worst place you could possibly be as a housing provider’, adding: “Because the previous year’s assessment hadn’t been complete, that is what increased the risk.
“If it had been done the previous year, the risk may not have gone to substantial or intolerable.”
She said: “We have apologise wholeheartedly and give you my assurances that we are doing everything we can to make this a top priority in the organisation. There’s a raft of improvements that have already been made since I’ve been in post and a raft of oversight.”
Councillors also praised a report on the request by the Totally Stockport, a business-led and business funded body created to improve the town centre, to increase their levy and run a poll of local businesses.
Cabinet member Coun Micheala Meikle said the levy was good value for money and helped increase the exposure of businesses in the town.